09/06/2026
Why living presidents were excluded
The two-year waiting period prevented the program from honoring a sitting or recently deceased president. This rule was designed to maintain historical distance and avoid turning circulating currency into a tribute to current political figures.
Additional program rules
A president could appear only once in the sequence.
Presidents were honored in chronological order of service.
The obverse showed the president’s portrait, name, and years in office.
The reverse displayed the Statue of Liberty.
The edge included the year of minting, mint mark, the inscriptions “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and 13 stars.
The program was established by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. Although the law originally called for broad circulation, the U.S. Mint stopped producing the coins for general circulation after demand proved weak; later authorized presidents were made primarily for collectors.
